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Tyre Choice Key In WTCC Qualifying |
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Monday, 25 September 2006 |
Yokohama ADVAN tyres were the deciding factor in this afternoon’s FIA World Touring Car Championship qualifying session, as a rain shower in Turkey caught the championship’s most experienced drivers out.
Making the most of his slick ADVAN tyres early on, SEAT driver Rickard Rydell claimed pole position in the session with a 2m06.289s lap. Team-mate, Gabriele Tarquini, was close behind in third.
Dividing the SEAT drivers was BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi, who recorded a time of 2m06.427s to start second – his best qualifying performance of the year.
Not long after these times were set, the rain started to fall in
Istanbul and drivers who had opted to run late in the 30-minute session
found themselves rushing to put in competitive times.
The championship battle was blown wide open as leader, Andy Priaulx,
struggled in the greasy conditions. He finally settled for 15th
position with closest rival James Thompson ahead in 13th.
At the chequered flag, less than one second separated the top 13 Yokohama ADVAN competitors.
In the Yokohama Independents’ Trophy, Luca Rangoni of Proteam
Motorsport topped the times at 2:07:645 and will start 16th tomorrow
with leader Tom Coronel in 17th position.
Rickard Rydell, SEAT Sport Sverige: “I haven’t had the best of
luck in races so far so I hope that my luck has changed. I would like
to score some good points tomorrow and maybe even a podium. I’m taking
each race at a time and trying not to think of the championship but if
there is a chance to win tomorrow, I will take it!”
Alessandro Zanardi, BMW Team Italy-Spain: “The team has done a
great job in setting-up my car. Istanbul is a similar circuit to Brno
so we expected to be competitive but not that much!”
Kazuyoshi Sekiguchi, Yokohama: “We had mixed weather again today
as we have seen several times this season but we have already shown
that the Yokohama ADVAN tyre can cope well in the rain so I am
confident that our tyre will perform for everyone in the races
tomorrow.”
Both races will be shown live on Eurosport on Sunday 24th September.
Race one is scheduled for 15:00 CET and race two will begin at 16:15.
Qualifying (top 6):
| Pos. |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
| 1 |
Rickard Rydell |
SEAT Sport Sverige |
2:06:289 |
| 2 |
Alessandro Zanardi |
BMW Team Italy-Spain |
2:06:427 |
| 3 |
Gabriele Tarquini |
SEAT Sport Italia |
2:06:486 |
| 4 |
Yvan Muller |
SEAT Sport France |
2:06:700 |
| 5 |
Duncan Huisman |
BMW Team Italy-Spain |
2:06:806 |
| 6 |
Nicola Larini |
Chevrolet |
2:06:871 |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 December 2006 )
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